Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
by LitLover 101
Summary: Spoilers for TVD 6x10. It's Christmas in Mystic Falls. And it wouldn't be Christmas if Matt weren't kidnapped, Caroline was dealing with emotional trauma, Damon's trying to avoid feelings of seeming rejection from Elena and Enzo was miserably lonely. Together this unlikely gang will find a reason to have a merry little Christmas, together, whether they like it or not.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, my readers. I was not entirely pleased with the mid-season finale of TVD ergo this story came into my head. It's just short multi-chapter with a happy ending based on friendship. I hope you like it. On with the show…**

Chapter 1: Not Alone for the Holidays

Matt Donavon was rarely credited with thinking. If he was honest, he'd admit that he hadn't exactly done anything to correct that assumption. It was just easier to not have to be the one who people expected to figure out how to solve the newest crisis. He supposed that kind of made him the Xander Harris of his own Scoobie gang, a role that would not ordinarily bother Matt. But today was Christmas and he had been kidnapped by one of the resident psychos that ran around and within Mystic Falls. This meant he had to save himself. Maybe.

In order to save himself Matt had to figure out what it was that Enzo really wanted from him. From the time that Matt had begun to deal with the various villains that seemed to appear at an ever increasing rate for the past three years, or that at least that he was aware of, he had come to know that they rarely stated their reasons as plainly as Enzo had. So Matt just had to figure out what Enzo's real angle was. If only he knew what to ask first.

"Hey, Enzo?" Matt called from inside the back of the truck.

Enzo slid the little window open and smirked at his prisoner. "Yes?"

"What is it that you really want? I mean I know that you're pissed at Stefan for treating Caroline like he has been and the whole thing where he killed you last year and all that, but really, hasn't everyone in our group tried to kill each other?" Waiting for a response, Matt felt his throat going dry when Enzo sat quietly for a moment.

"Matt, I know that you're just a washed up jock who doesn't really bother to think outside of the proverbial box that is called being a boring human but while I find someone better to talk to why don't you ponder this dilemma on your own?" Enzo inquired before slamming the window closed.

Matt sighed, at least Enzo hadn't taken his phone from him. Pulling it out, Matt began to look through the list of contacts, trying to decide who he could trust to try to help him out of this jam that he was in. He had quite a long list of people, many friends, no family 'cause they're dead. Not a cheerful thought during the holidays but he didn't feel that cheerful given the circumstances.

Seeing Bonnie's name, Matt felt a painful stab thinking about the fact that his friend, who he had known forever was in hell. Another depressing thought. Gee, he was racking those up quickly. And he wouldn't even be able to spend the rest of the day with his remaining friends. Then it dawned on Matt what Enzo's obsession with Stefan and his life was. It was so obvious. Matt wanted to smack himself for not getting it before. He was lonely. That's why he kidnapped him. Because that was the only way that he could have someone with him during this holiday.

Where in the hell were Damon and Caroline anyway? They could help get Matt out of this. Right? Except they were both occupied with the Bringing Bonnie Back plan, Caroline was probably decorating her entire dorm and Damon, no doubt, was attached to Elena. However, this was an emergency. They could find some time to help Matt. It's not like he asked them for favors all the time.

Beginning to text furiously in case Enzo decided to listen in, Matt hoped that Caroline would answer, and soon. He just hoped that she didn't call him back.

Caroline was sitting by her mother's bedside with her posture extremely straight. She refused to cry in case her mother opened her eyes and found her baby weeping like she was already gone. This was not right. You don't tell someone that their mother was going to die on Christmas. And why in the hell had her mother not told her in the first place? Did she think that Caroline could not handle the loss of another parent? Why not? After all that's all anybody in Mystic Falls seemed to do anymore, die and get sucked into hell.

Speaking of being sucked into hell… "Damon," Caroline whispered when she smelled the scent of bourbon in the air that Damon usually wore like cologne. Feeling his hand on her shoulder, she looked up with glassy eyes. It was odd that she found herself calling the vampire who had sired a friend since in spite of her inviting him to Friendsgiving they were still more friendemies. But Damon was her mother's friend. Damon had a right to know that Liz was sick.

"Hey, don't you even think about crying," Damon ordered. Walking away, he grabbed a chair and pulled it next to Caroline's. She leaned her head against his shoulder. Right now she just needed someone. Anyone would do. Although she could think of someone, that if she made one simple phone call, would no doubt be here with a cancer specialist to take a look at her mother…

"Is your phone vibrating, or are you happy to see me?" Damon inquired with that smirk that would ordinarily have her smacking him but she didn't have the energy to. Pulling out her phone, Caroline frowned. There was a text from Matt. Damon looked down at it. "Huh. I thought that Beavis was keeping an eye out for Malkazy. That's typical. Leave a boy to do a man's work," Damon muttered as he watched Liz sleep. "Looks like they gave Liz the good stuff."

"Damon," Caroline whispered as she stared at the phone, feeling slightly horrified.

The message read: Help! Enzo took me hostage and is seeking revenge on Stefan!

Damon peered at the screen, blinking for longer than Caroline would have liked before he looked her in the eye with raised eyebrows and one of his smarmy smiles. "Looks like it's a Thursday and Timmy's in the well. Again. Wonder what Enzo's pissed at Stef about this time. Hope little bro didn't try to run him over with my car on the way home. Huh. Don't recall blood or a bent render on it."

"Stefan fixed your car?" Caroline asked absently as she typed back to Matt. "Where are you?"

Matt replied almost instantly. "Not a clue. You'll have to ask Enzo. But please don't tell him that I told you. I don't want to die for Christmas."

Snatching the phone away, Damon smiled. "Why not, it's fun?" Handing it back to Caroline, he grinned when Caroline slapped his arm.

"Sorry, Matt, Damon is a jackass. I will call Enzo right now," Caroline announced aloud as Damon groaned while playing with the leg of Caroline's chair.

Ignoring Damon and calling Enzo, Caroline had to admit that she was relieved that someone was taking her mind off her mother's illness, even if it turned out to be for two minutes. "Hey, Enzo. Where are you?" Caroline asked in as cheerful a tone as possible.

"He bloody well told you that I have him didn't you, you sack of blood?" Enzo yelled at Matt with a happy tone.

"Enzo, please, don't hurt him. He's my friend. So the friend of my friend should be your friend," Caroline called into the phone.

"Yes. Yes, Gorgeous. But the problem is that that your logic, as entertaining as it is, is not going to get Matt out of this dilemma. You see, he tried to kill me earlier today by driving me over the border to Mystic Falls and I do not like it when people try to kill me. But I will say that I will not kill him. He's helping me," Enzo clarified as if this was supposed to make perfect sense. Seriously?

"Seriously, Enzo? Bring Matt home. Now!" Caroline demanded.

"Can't," Enzo replied curtly.

"And why not?" Caroline snapped back.

"Because we've run out of gas in the tank and are stuck camping until dawn," Enzo told her. "Besides I found a service station where I bought some chocolate and marshmallows. Probably not your idea of a traditional Christmas but I haven't really had one in long, long, long time," Enzo sighed. "Got to go."

Grinding her teeth together, Caroline looked at her phone. It was a good thing that she already had a problem that she couldn't solve to deal with right now or she would be on the open road, trying to find Matt and Enzo before they killed each other. "Okay. So that sounded odd. Let me try." Before Caroline could utter a response, Damon snatched away her phone and called Enzo.

"Gorgeous, miss me so soon?" Enzo inquired.

"Nope. But thanks for the compliment," Damon replied with a grin directed at Caroline who rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Whatcha doin' there, buddy?"

"Nothing, mate. Thanks for calling," Enzo replied.

"Bullshit, Enzo. What's the deal? No one wants to have to spend the night with Matt. So what's going on?" Damon snapped into the phone.

"Your brother is hiding someone from you and I intend on finding that someone," Enzo retorted, causing Caroline to stare at Damon, feeling confused.

"Who is that?" Damon asked with his own look of not knowing what the hell Enzo was going on about.

"Turns out that there is another Salvatore, Damon," Enzo replied. "And I'm going to find her. If you'd like to join us on our little adventure then I can't say I'd be completely opposed… and if you could wrangle Caroline into the mix, I wouldn't stop you…"

"I can't," Caroline began to say when Damon slammed a hand over her mouth.

"She'd love to. Where are you?" Damon inquired with a glow in his eyes that made Caroline feel a little sick. "And what is the name of this other Salvatore?" he added with his lips pursed.

"We're in - Sarah. Sarah Salvatore," Enzo told him and Damon's eyebrows knit together. "According to her Facebook page, she's attending Duke University. We should be able to find out where she's living from their admissions records since she's probably gone home for the holidays like people do when they have homes and families and all that."

"We're on our way. Should be there in less than an hour if I speed," Damon said before hanging up and handing Caroline her phone. Taking her by the arm, he hoisted her to her feet. "And away we go."

"Damon. Get off," Caroline snapped at Damon, growling as he tightened his grip on her upper arm. "I have to stay."

"What? So you can watch you mom sleep? Trust me, she would want you to save Matt. Your mom is a hero. One of the white hats. And if she knew that you let Matt get killed because Enzo got an attack of the munchies then she would not be happy. Besides, do you really want to spend Christmas in a hospital room?" Damon watched Caroline's eyes drop to the floor. "I'll make sure you're back bright and early, during visiting hours, and then we can hang Christmas lights in here," he waved at the walls. "And make some of those annoying cards that talk. Hell, I'll dress up as Santa if you want."

"Fine. But if something happens to my mom while we're gone then I will never forgive you. And we have eternity," Caroline reminded him.

"I know," Damon replied as he led Caroline out of room. "If I don't, I won't forgive myself."

"So why aren't you with Elena?" Caroline inquired with a frown as they hurried down the hallway and toward the stairs.

"She stood me up," Damon replied with a shrug and a forced smile. "I was going to bed when you called."

"Oh," Caroline looked at Damon, feeling a pang of sympathy. Apparently she wasn't the only person scorned by their love choice in their little group this year. "No one should be alone on Christmas," she told him.

"No, they shouldn't. Guess we can call this Friendsmas," Damon declared as they walked outside into the lightly falling snow.

Inside the van that once belonged to the psycho, vampire hunter, Tripp, Enzo began to whistle as he flipped to a station that only played Christmas carols. "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth," Enzo sang as Matt groaned from the back which just encouraged Enzo to sing louder. Now that Damon and Caroline were on their way he felt ten times better than he had been feeling. Christmas could be such a dreary holiday when you didn't have your family or your mates. But this one would be different. Now Enzo would just have to find a proper way to thank Matt for his troubles, he was just happy that his plan had worked and the boy had done exactly as he had predicted. Humans, so easy to manipulate.

**There should be about another chapter or two to this story because I'd like the last chapter to be posted on Tuesday of next week. That way you'll have a nice little Christmas FF stocking stuffer to read with a cup of cocoa. **

**Thanks for reading, faving, following and for reviewing. **

**Peace, **

**Jessica**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, my lovely readers. There is more Christmas Madenzoline before the actual day with two more chapters to go. On with the show…**

Chapter 2: Gather Round

Lorenzo or Enzo as his friends, (the privilevged few) and his enemies (more numerous than he could account for during a given year), sat on a rock toasting marshmallows. Staring into the glowing embers, his mouth turned upward at one side, in a crooked grin as Matt Donavon tried to place one of the fluffy, sugar filled, pasty things on the end of his stick. Shaking his head, Enzo let out a snort of amusement. "Need help there, mate?" he wondered aloud with another chuckle as Matt glanced up with a glare.

"Not really," Matt snapped. Pulling out his cell, he glanced at it before placing it back in his jeans' pocket.

Enzo shook his head. Matt must think he was some kind of idiot. Of course he knew that Caroline had been sending him texts for the better part of an hour, telling the boy that they were on their way. When you're forced to endure years by yourself, hatching plans to escape your prison, you begin to pick up on details. "Are they getting any warmer?" he asked just to see what Matt would do when he let on that he knew what the boy had been up to all this time.

With his head snapping upward in surprise, Matt stared at Enzo with a sullen look that seemed to be his go to expression, he shrugged. "Maybe."

"Yeah. That's what I thought," Enzo sighed. "Suppose I could take a nap while they drive from the land of fairy dust and all things boring." Closing his eyes, Enzo waited for it. When he felt Matt standing before him with his stick that still had the marshmallow sticking on it haphazardly, Enzo sped around Matt. Grabbing the young man by the neck, he hissed in his ear, "If you want to live to see 2015, I would suggest that you don't tempt me to stick that through your retinas."

Letting go of Matt, Enzo took his seat on the rock and watched the boy rub at his neck. He hated this kidnapping someone he didn't fancy the company of much just so he could get five minutes with his friends. Why did the universe hate him? What had he ever done to it? Then he remembered who the universe was and let out a dry chuckle as Matt sat back down, minus the stick.

Picking up another stick, Enzo jammed a marshmallow on the end and handed it to Matt who appeared confused. "Thanks. I think," Matt muttered before jamming the thing into the fire. "So, why didn't you, like, kidnap a family and make them celebrate with you?"

Enzo sighed heavily, "Your questions are rather stupid."

"And kidnapping someone you don't like is smart?" Matt shot back.

Shaking with amusement, Enzo nodded his head. "Point one for the lad. Not so bad with that one. Maybe if I took you on the road for a year you would become bearable company." Looking at Matt for a long moment, Enzo shook his head, "Or not."

Damon was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel of his Camaro. Best present from baby bro yet. Maybe he should have forced Stef to come with him on this little road trip so that he and Caroline could talk out their issues. Looking at Caroline who was staring at photos of her and her mom, Damon turned his head. Maybe not. "So, Blondie, got anything that you want to do for this bright and sparkling Christmas while you still can?"

"Find a way to cure my mom, but we can't. According to Stefan vampire blood doesn't cure humans of cancer," Caroline replied with tears pooling in her eyes.

Smiling, Damon caught Caroline's eye, "We could turn her. Think of the fun that it could be if the sheriff of Mystic Falls was a vampire? People would come in to report on one of us and your mom would be all 'Grrr.' Problem solved."

"I can't believe that you would make a joke like that," Caroline snapped at Damon who sighed as he stared out the windshield. "That is so typical of you. If you don't like something, then kill it or if you do, kill it anyway."

Rolling his eyes, Damon stopped the car before getting out. "Have it your way. Your mom can die just like Daddy Forbes and we can have another funeral, 'cause we don't have enough of those in our town." The sarcasm might be a bit much but Damon couldn't take Caroline's attitude toward this whole situation. Yeah, sure, Liz was not exactly, "Yeah, Team Vampire! Totally want to join that club right after the Sierra!" That did not mean that Damon wanted to stand idly by as one of his best friends bit it. No, he was not going to watch Liz martyr herself like that. He had not gone to hell to keep her alive just so she could die like this. She deserved another chance. A better chance.

Getting out of the car, Caroline slammed the door as she followed Damon down the road. He was looking around like he expected for Matt and Enzo to be walking along, taking in the sights. Crossing her arms, she glared at his back. She could not believe that he had had the nerve to suggest that they turn her mother. He knew how Liz felt about vampires. Glaring at the back of Damon's head, Caroline waited for him to say something else stupid. Only Damon wasn't talking. He was standing in the road with his hands on his hips. "What are you doing?" Caroline yelled irritably.

Rolling his eyes, Damon turned to glare at Caroline with a look that would have ordinarily made her take a step backward, but she was too angry to deal with his shit right now. "I'm trying to find Enzo and Matt. Enzo said they would be here. Right freakin' here. But do you see them?" Damon waved both his arms with a look like he was going to kill someone before letting out a roar of rage. "Why in the hell did I even come back here? Huh? What the hell? I would be better off in hell. Then at least I would have someone who kind of hated me but at least they appreciated that they weren't alone." Striding over to a tree, Damon punched it before withdrawing his hand and sucking in a breath.

Caroline sighed. He was right. And she hated to admit that Damon was ever right about anything. But they had each other and Bonnie was alone. Feeling more tears prick at her eyes, Caroline walked over to Damon and pressed a hand to his shoulder until he turned. She looked at his balled fist which was bleeding. It would heal soon. "Let's go find Matt and Enzo. 'Kay?"

"Sure," Damon replied as they walked down the road, side by side, intently listening for sounds of their missing friends. Hearing the peal of what sounded like Enzo's chuckle, Caroline's head twisted in that direction. Damon's head also moved in the same direction. Looking at each other, they moved swiftly through the woods and into a nearby clearing. Sure enough Enzo and Matt were eating marshmallows and to Caroline's shock, Matt was smiling at something that Enzo was saying. How long did it take for someone to begin to bond with his kidnapper? He had only been gone a couple of hours. "Matt," Caroline called and Matt looked over at her before getting to his feet.

"Hey, Care. What took you guys so long?" Matt asked Caroline.

"We had to make a pit stop. I got the munchies and ate a deer," Damon said drily before turning to Enzo. "What the hell, Enzo? If this is a cry for help you could have tried calling instead of kidnapping Beavis here," hooking a thumb at Matt, Damon smirked at Enzo.

"I would have but it seems that you only answer if the name is Gilbert or Saltzman, mate," Enzo snapped.

Damon's jaw dropped, "You're not seriously jealous of Elena and Ric?"

"Yeah, and Stefan," Matt added as Caroline's eyebrows rose.

"Shut it, you," Enzo growled.

"Enzo, my mom is in the hospital and she's dying! What is wrong with you?" Caroline yelled at Enzo whose eyes widened.

"I didn't know, gorgeous. No one tells me anything unless I go and kidnap or murder someone. Otherwise I'm just here," Enzo yelled back before heading past them toward the road. "Don't really know why I bothered at all."

Groaning, Caroline looked at Damon who also looked annoyed but guilty. "Enzo!" they called at the same time.

Enzo pivoted on his heel before looking back at them, "Yes?"

"So what's this about you trying to find Sarah Salvatore?" Damon inquired with a deep frown. "I killed that kid when she was still in her mom."

Gasping, Caroline looked horrified and disgusted while staring at Damon.

"That's the other Christmas miracle, Damon," Enzo announced with a wide smile. "You see, Stefan allowed you to go around feeling guilty about something that you didn't even do. Sure, you killed the girl's mum, but Sarah is alive and kicking as we speak."

Staring at Enzo, Damon tried to process the words but they would not fully register. "What?"

"She's alive, Damon. Thought you and I could pay a little visit. There's nothing like seeing family during the holidays," Enzo quipped. "Now, shall we be off, or did you want to stay and look for Bambi?"

Damon shook his head. This was impossible. It would be nothing short of a miracle if the girl had survived. Feeling his head swimming, Damon tried to think logically. Enzo had to have gotten it wrong. "How?"

"See, the sheer beauty of technology is that you can find almost anyone, anywhere, at any time. Took me some time and a trip to a library where I met a sweet, young lady who was quite good with researching. She found Sarah in less than an hour. Not only that, she found the hospital that Stefan and Zach Salvatore took the mother and her child to. Technology, it is a wonderful thing," Enzo told them while Matt frowned and Caroline looked confused. "She also taught me about Facebook."

After a long moment, Damon headed out of the woods. "Damon, where are you going?" Caroline shouted after him and he heard her following close behind.

"I'm going to find out if my brother has been lying to me all these years or not," Damon growled. Now that he had had his moment to digest this information he was royally pissed at Stefan for keeping this a secret from him.

"But you're my ride," Caroline complained.

Stopping in his tracks, Damon glowered down at Caroline. "Look, I'm going to find out if this true and you can hitchhike your way for all I care. Got it?"

"Damon, you're such a jerk," Caroline yelled after him as he stormed off toward his car.

"Whatever, Blondie," Damon snapped back as Enzo hopped into the passenger seat with a satisfied smirk. Damon revved the engine and would have driven off but Caroline was standing in front of the car. "Coming?" he snapped at her.

Rolling her eyes, Caroline walked around the car and glared down at Enzo until he climbed in the back with Matt hopping in beside him. Damon waited for Caroline to sit down before speeding off toward Duke.

"You had better get me home before mom wakes up," Caroline reminded Damon who nodded but he was only half listening. He was preparing himself for what it would be like to meet the girl whose parents he had killed. His humanity had been off both times. However, that didn't really seem like a good excuse. What in the hell was he going to say to her? "Hi, I'm Damon. You could say that I'm your great- great- great-uncle. Give or take a decade." Yeah, that would work out really well. Maybe he could make her cocoa and take her out caroling, too. Shit.

"What are you going to tell her?" Caroline asked quietly.

"Nothing," Damon said. "I just want to see her. I want to know that she's okay. I guess. I don't really know. This is not something I was expecting."

"You mean you didn't expect your supposedly dead relative to still be alive?" Enzo inquired with a snicker.

"I don't think you're helping," Matt pointed out.

"Who asked you?" Enzo snapped.

"What were you two talking about when we arrived?" Caroline asked and the two men quieted, refusing to look her in the eye. "Come on? What's so funny?"

"I kind of told Enzo about that time that Bonnie dared you to dress up as Mrs. Claus. You started doing a cheer routine after drinking Tyler's spiked eggnog and we were out in the middle of the Lockwood's lawn with, like, everyone in Mystic Falls there -" Matt was saying when Caroline yelped.

Damon turned to stare at Caroline who was bright red. "Matt, don't you dare finish that story," she warned.

"I'll finish it," Enzo announced as Caroline slid down in her seat.

"And the costume split while she in the position revealing her under clothing to the entire town. Apparently there were some sort of reindeer knickers with a fluffy tail on the back and little blinking lights on the bra. Now, that is what I would call a Christmas present. Care for a reenactment, gorgeous?" Enzo teased as Caroline screamed, launched herself toward him with Damon laughing as he turned on the radio and began to sing. "And so it was Christmas" while restraining Caroline with one arm so she didn't choke Enzo. Maybe the day was salvageable after all and they still had four hours to go.

**Thank you for faving, following, reading and/or reviewing. **

**Answers to reviews: **

**Danillerae23: Thank you for reviewing. I love Friendzoline, too, and there will be more in the next chapter. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, my lovely readers. I hope that everyone is having a happy and safe holiday season. Enjoy the Madenzoline friendmance and on with the show…**

Chapter 3: Deck the Halls with Snowballs

There was a time that Caroline would have been thrilled to be spending Christmas evening with three hot guys. Not in a creepy foursome type of way. Ew! But to be able to brag to her squad that she had the full attention of what would be perceived as not one, but three eligible bachelors. Unfortunately, she could not enjoy herself because she was too preoccupied with when she would be able to get home to her mom. The minute that they were in the parking lot of the dorms for Duke's undergraduates, Caroline leapt out of the car and hurried toward the building. "What's your hurry, Caroline?" Enzo asked appearing next to her.

"I want to get this over with to be able to get home to my mom," Caroline snapped. Ordinarily she would humor Enzo but now was not that time. All she wanted to do was to get this over with and go.

"Is she that worse for wear?" Enzo inquired quietly.

"Yes," Caroline replied shortly. "She's got cancer. I guess she knew for a little while now and she's not going to make it."

Enzo sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she felt tears running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, love. It was hell when my dad passed and I was locked up when my mum…" for a moment a shadow covered Enzo's face. Caroline couldn't believe that she had forgotten that Enzo had parents.

"When did you dad…?" Caroline trailed off, waiting for an answer as they headed toward Sarah's dorm in the lightly pouring snow.

"I was bit of a boy. Think I was about five," Enzo's eyebrows scrunched as he looked thoughtful. "Could have been older. Not sure though. Possibly I was six."

"Is this it?" Matt asked Damon who was staring up at a building with a frown. For a moment they all stood in silence, staring at the quiet building.

"Yeah. Right, Enzo?" Damon called without looking at his friend. His attention was on the building when a group of girls came walking out. Caroline wondered what he was contemplating, 'Was one of them Sarah? The four girls walked away from the building while Caroline's group watched them. Caroline was a little shocked that they didn't seem to be aware of the three vampires and one human male. Not that she wasn't well aware of a time that she, too, acted the exact same way. Trust. The thing she lacked.

"Going in?" Enzo asked the group when Caroline made a decision and headed toward the front doors. Opening them, she found Damon right behind her with Enzo behind him and Matt behind them. They headed upstairs to the room number that Damon had Enzo write down and she had memorized.

Stopping in front of the door, Caroline stared at the three men behind her with her hands on her hips. "Okay, if I were still human no matter how cute the guys were, if they showed up at my door when my dorm was all but abandoned, then I would be freaked out and calling the police."

"Oh, come on, Caroline," Damon scoffed with an eye roll. "We'll just compel her to calm down."

"Yeah. Before she starts screaming bloody murder?" Caroline snapped at him.

Damon shook his head. "You know, Caroline, you could try being a little more bossy. Just a little."

"Sure," Matt added. "I don't think that would be possible."

"Whatever. Just go around the corner until we're sure she's compelled. Please," Caroline moaned, looking from Matt to Enzo. She didn't have to tell Matt twice although Matt had to tug on Enzo's sleeve to get him to budge. Enzo snorted before jerking away from Matt and heading away.

"We'll be back. Perhaps there's a bloody snack machine 'round here," Enzo was muttering.

"You know they don't have blood machines, right?" Matt questioned Enzo.

"Did the doctor drop you on your head when you were born by any chance?" Enzo retorted.

When she could no longer hear the two bickering, Caroline looked at Damon with a reassuring smile. "You'll be fine. If anything gets out of control, I'll take care of it."

"Why are you being nice to me?" Damon asked Caroline who rolled her eyes.

"'Cause it's a Christmas miracle," Caroline replied with a snark that rivaled Damon's. "And because you saved my mom when you could have saved yourself during all that craziness with the Travelers. You gave me more time with her. So, I guess I owe you one."

"Really? Huh," Damon nodded with a smile as he lifted his hand and knocked on the door. After a long pause, Damon waited to find no one answering. Sighing, he twisted the knob, effectively breaking it. Pushing it open, he stepped across the threshold to find no one was at home.

Caroline followed Damon into the room. Looking around, she found that it was a typical dorm room. Nothing unusual. It reminded her of her own dorm room. Picking up a framed photograph, she looked at the girl who was standing in between two other girls of the same age. There was something that reminded her of Zach Salvatore who she had not known that well. Each of the girls looked happy. "Which one do you think is Sarah?"

"That one," Damon said, picking the same girl that Caroline had thought was the relative of Damon and Stefan. He took the photo, sitting down, heavily, on the bed. "She looks happy."

"She does," Caroline agreed.

"Who looks happy?" Enzo inquired as he appeared with Matt in the doorway. "Is it safe to enter or should we continue to haunt the halls?"

"Come in," Caroline called, waving for them to enter.

Enzo entered first with Matt behind him. He did not find the room that interesting. Looked like the room of most of the girls between eighteen and twenty today. Nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps it was too picture perfect. Maybe she had a few body parts under the bed. Wouldn't be the first time that he had seen such a thing since he came out of the bloody cell. "This is a complete waste of time. Let's be off."

"No," Damon said as he continued to stare at the photograph.

Enzo had seen the look of despair and guilt on his friend's face before. It was a harbinger of unnecessary feelings of depression. Who needed to feel that down when they had forever to make up for misdeeds? You have a bad week. You spend a decade making up for it. Sitting down beside Damon, Enzo pulled the picture frame out of the other vampire's grip. "See this lovely girl has a lovely room with lovely friends and I bet that she has a lovely house with lovely parents who have given her a lovely life. Nothing for you to trouble yourself with. Yes?" And here he had been thinking that this would be fun.

"I guess," Damon replied dully but he had that look like he had no idea what the hell Enzo had said to him.

"Got you a snack," Enzo announced. Caroline gave Enzo a long look as he removed a package from his pocket. Grinning, he handed it to Damon. Enzo could tell that Caroline had been expecting him to pull out a human heart, or some sort of nonsense like that.

Examining the package, Damon smirked. "A package of Snowballs?" he began to laugh to the point that Enzo feared he was half hysterical. "Where did you find these?"

"In the vending machine down the hall," Enzo told him. "Want to go check out what other wonders we might find in there?"

"Sure," Damon said, getting to his feet. Matt had opened a package of pork rinds that Damon yanked out of his hand on his way past and tossed in the garbage can.

"Hey," Matt protested. "I haven't eaten in hours. Well, I had some marshmallows, but still."

"Have some peanut crackers," Damon snapped as they headed toward the vending machine.

"Hot chocolate," Caroline squealed happily as Enzo smiled at her. She was made happy by the simplest of things. One of the things that he enjoyed about her. This was the kind of girl that liked the better things in life but would settle for some cocoa and packaged sugar cakes wrapped in more marshmallows.

"Looks like most of the kids ate most of the crap in here," Damon announced. "Let's see. Matt, you want more marshmallows or some potato chips that might be older than Caroline?"

"Hey," Caroline yelled.

Damon rolled his eyes. "How is that an insult?"

Caroline bit her lower lip before letting out a loud giggle, "I don't know."

Damon started to laugh. Looking at Matt, the human smiled before he began to chuckle and soon they were all laughing. It must have been some kind of gas that was leaking through the ventilation system because there was nothing that was that funny.

"Oh, damn," Caroline said, noticing that her wallet was empty. Enzo opened his and handed her more money to purchase four hot chocolates. "Thanks, Enzo," Caroline grinned happily as she handed him his drink. They headed down the hall with their arms loaded with the remains of the overpriced junk food. "What do we do now?" Caroline asked as she plopped down on one of the three beds.

"We could tell Christmas stories," Matt suggested with a tentative smile.

Enzo's eyebrows rose as he looked at Damon and Caroline. Caroline had her mouth full of one of the Snowballs that Damon had handed her. Damon looked thoughtful as he tore open a sack of Doritos. "We could do that. I'll start. There was this one time that Stefan got really drunk. This was during one of the times that we were getting along, when he wasn't the Ripper. So, Stef is so drunk that I tell him that I don't believe that anyone could fit through a chimney. Well, before I can say anything else Stef disappears. I go to look for him and after a while I go back to the great room to wait for him to come back. Then I hear someone yelling. It's coming from the chimney. Stef had lodged himself in there. Had to stay there till I put out the fire and then went up on the roof with one of those chimney cleaning brooms that I shoved him on through with. Last time he tried to play Santa. Okay, who's next?"

"Me," Caroline volunteered. "There was this one Christmas after my dad moved out and I was too depressed to go out so Bonnie and Elena came over. They had all these twinkly lights, hot chocolate and made these picture frames with pictures of the three of us growing up. So, my mom brought the TV into my room and we watched all these silly Christmas cartoons that we used to watch when we were kids. It was a really great Christmas." Smiling, Caroline wrapped her hands around her cup of hot chocolate. "When Bonnie comes home I think that we're well overdue for another movie night. I think she'd like that."

"I think so, too," Damon told her and for a moment they seemed to be have a moment of understanding that made Enzo feel left out.

"My turn," Enzo announced. "When I was a wee lad my dad would take me out to pick out a tree for Christmas. We didn't have a lot in the way of money and material objects. But we did have these lovely evergreen trees that smelled wonderful. My dad would cut down the one that I picked out and carry it back into the house where he and my mum would decorate it. Those are my best Christmas memories." Turning to Matt, Enzo nodded at him. "You're up, mate."

"When I was growing up my dad wasn't really in the picture and my mom wasn't either, and Vik was Vik. She tended to find other things to do. This one year I was just sitting out on the front lawn because it wasn't snowing and everyone else were with their families. All I had wanted for Christmas was some snow to go sledding in. I could go by myself. I did it all the time. Not a big deal. But with no snow, there was no sledding. Around noon I was about to head inside with my sled when there was this big flake that floated down. Then there were tons of them. By the time that I made it to the hill that we used to go sledding down there were a ton of kids and parents already out there. I ended up sledding with Ty and his mom. That was one of my favorite days," Matt told them.

"Congratulations, Tiny Tim, you're a soppy, sentimental bloke more than the rest of us combined," Enzo announced and Matt sneered at him. "Let's find something else to do, shall we?"

"Like what?" Caroline asked around a mouthful of Snowball.

Damon began to laugh. "Take a picture," he said before hitting a button on his phone of a startled Caroline. "Sent to Elena and Stefan with the caption, 'Love and Christmas joy, Caroline.' Done. And done."

"Asshole," Caroline muttered.

"Language!" Matt shouted and Caroline giggled.

"Food fight," Damon shouted. Taking a Snowball, he aimed for Enzo who shot into the hallway with Damon in hot pursuit. Caroline and Matt ran after them. Soon they had split the hall into two. Caroline and Damon took one side while Enzo and his hostage/new friend, took the other. "Aim. Fire," Damon yelled.

Enzo sent a Snowball sailing that Caroline swatted against a wall, covering it in pink coconut, marshmallow and chocolate cake goodness. Caroline laughed loudly when Damon hit Enzo on the shoulder with a Snowball and then smashed Matt's attempt to hit him into a wall. That was going to be one hell of a clean up, but they didn't have to worry about it.

"We need more ammunition," Damon yelled but Enzo was not listening when he launched his next assault. He could not remember the last time he had had this nice a Christmas memory to hold onto. He was just grateful that he had friends to be with this time 'round. "You're both going down."

**Thank you to everyone who has faved, followed, read and or reviewed this story. **

**Answers to review questions: **

**Somebody knows: Thank you. This is strictly friendship between the four characters since they're all having a pretty rough year for different reasons. I love the Carenzo friendship. It makes me happy that they've given Caroline such a loyal friend because Stefan has kind of messed up big time and I used to love their friendship. There are some allusions toward romantic interests more so in the final chapter that will be posted tomorrow but you won't see any actual romance in this fic. **

**Guest: Thank you. I loved writing it. The last chapter will be up tomorrow. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, my lovely readers. This is sadly the last chapter of this fic. There might be more to the story at some point in the future when I don't have a billion on-going fics. I'm not really sure. Have a happy and safe holiday. On with the show… **

Chapter 4: Let Your Heart Be Light

If you asked him in a week, Matt would swear that he had been terrified the entire time that Enzo had held him hostage and that hell, no, they're not friends. However, if you asked Matt in the early hours of the day after Christmas when his friends, Jeremy and Tyler were no doubt sleeping off the effects of too much eggnog, he would say, 'Yes.' Just for a few hours, Matt felt like he was actually friends, or at the very least, companions with Enzo. Odd, right? So was the life of Matt Donavon.

"Same time next year?" Enzo joked and Matt grinned while Damon and Caroline rolled their eyes also looking happy.

"Nope," Caroline replied with a smile directed at Enzo.

"Definitely not," Damon added with a quick shake of his head. "There's no way that I'm going to do this again. I've got to go look for Elena, she probably had Klaus compel her to forget where her dorm room is."

Caroline groaned loudly as Enzo's eyebrows rose. "Problem, gorgeous?"

Matt nodded as Damon drove into the hospital parking lot where Liz Forbes was a patient. "He used the K word."

"What K word?" Enzo's eyebrows went up when he noticed Caroline glaring at him. "Sorry I asked."

Damon got out of parked car. "One last thing to do," he announced as he pulled out a small box that had been lying beside Matt most of the way home. "Coming?" Staring at Matt and Enzo, Damon gave them less than two minutes to make their minds up before he started making his way toward the main entrance.

Matt got out of the car and fell into step with Enzo. "So am I free to go after this?" he questioned Enzo who looked thoughtful.

"I'm thinking 'No.'" You didn't really have anything else to do, did you?" Enzo inquired lightly. Matt had to grudgingly admit that Enzo was right. Matt didn't really have anything to do since Tripp was dead and his new job was not going as he had hoped. Tyler was wrapped up with his Liv problems. Then there was Jeremy who had decided to become the rational one between the two of them (that was the scariest part). Maybe spending time with Enzo wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Striding into the hospital, Matt followed Enzo up the stairs. When they headed down the hallway, they saw Caroline talking to a doctor with Damon's hand on her shoulder as she nodded. Sighing heavily, Matt leaned against a nearby wall. Back to reality where a woman he had known and looked up to for most of his life was dying. The worst part was where there was nothing that he could do to help her or to help Caroline. "Hey, are you going to hold up that wall all day?" Damon called with a wave for Matt to join Caroline and him.

Taking a deep breath, Damon entered Liz' room. The sheriff was just coming to when he came to stand by her bedside. Caroline instantly reached for her mother's hand with a huge smile. "Hi, mommy," she greeted her mother.

"Hi, baby," Liz replied as she tried to sit up but struggled. Damon eased her up the bed as gently as he could, holding her like she was an infant. "Damon, what are you doing here? Don't you have something far more interesting to do?" Liz teased.

"Nope. We came to give you a better than never Christmas celebration," Damon announced. Reaching for the box, he had set aside he opened it. "Look, lights," he told her with a wide smile.

"Oh," Liz shook her head as Damon began to untangle them.

"And that's not all," Damon continued. "We're going to carol for you."

"We are?" Matt looking confused when Damon shot him a sour look. "Yeah. I totally forgot."

"Any special requests?" Caroline inquired as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Ummm," Liz looked thoughtful. "Just anything that you can think of would be good, sweetie."

Caroline bit her bottom lip for a moment before grinning widely. "Okay. I've got it." Closing her eyes, Caroline sucked in a deep breath before opening her mouth. Enzo closed the door so that others wouldn't interfere. "Have yourself a merry, little Christmas," she began when Damon joined her. Soon Enzo and Matt began to sing with the other two. "Let your heart be light. From now on all your troubles will be out of sight. Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Make the Yule-tide gay. From now on, our troubles will be out of sight. Here we are as in olden days. Happy, olden day. Happy golden days of yore," Caroline giggled when Damon hugged Liz and managed to pull her in with her mom from the other side. "Faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us, once more," she sang, waving Enzo and Matt over to join the group hug, "once more."

By the time that they were done, Liz had both her hands to her cheeks as she cried with a wide smile on her face. "Merry Christmas, Liz," Damon said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Merry Christmas, mom," Caroline said as she wrapped her arms around her mother. "I love you so much," she whispered into her mother's hair.

"Maybe we should give you two a moment," Damon suggested. Leading the other men out of the room, he left Caroline to talk to her mother.

Entering the hallway, Damon withdrew his phone and glanced at the screen to find no missed calls. Sighing dejectedly, he started down the hall with Enzo and Beavis. "What do you want to do while Caroline is having quality time with mommy?"

"Visit the babies," Enzo replied while Matt looked horrified. "What?" Enzo snapped with an irritated expression. "I like to see their little feet waving about. Not like we have much else to do. Could pop by the nurses' station and see if any of them want to pop in a closet to play a round of doctor?"

Shaking his head, Damon grinned. There was a time that he would have gone with option number two before he became a domesticated boyfriend type. Sometimes he hated his life. "Or option number three, we park it here, in the waiting area and wait for Caroline."

"That's probably the best one," Matt agreed. Then he grinned. "Although I kind of liked option number two."

Damon looked back down the hall, wondering what Caroline and Liz were talking about. Definitely not him. Smiling, he got up. "Think I'm going to head to the gift shop and then grab some hot chocolate for Liz."

Caroline was trying her best not to cry. Unfortunately the tears did not want to obey her commands. Swiping at them, she forced a smile. "So, mom, is there anything that you would like to do before they release you?"

"I would like for you to stop acting like this in my funeral. That would be a good start," Liz said gently. "We still have time. Now, I was thinking that we could take a look at what classes Whitmore is offering for next semester," her mother suggested as Caroline frowned.

"How can you think about my schooling right now?" Caroline whispered hoarsely. "Shouldn't we be planning a great trip to somewhere awesome like Paris? Or at the very least, Las Vegas. Just anything crazy! You have to have a bucket list? Come on, mom. The skies the limit! I can compel us a private jet and we could go to Italy. Didn't you always say you wanted to go to Venice? We could drink really good wine. Or what about a little, remote island with a great view?"

"Caroline!" Liz stopped Caroline who was poised to come up with another idea that would only be more extravagant. "I am from a small town. This is where I have lived my entire life. I don't need a world tour. I just need you and being at home."

"But, mom," Caroline began when Liz held up a hand.

"Sweetie, I know that you mean the best, but I am tired. Now, how in the world did you end up with Damon, Enzo and Matt?" Liz inquired with a look of amusement. "The four of you don't seem like a likely group."

"Well," Caroline sighed. "Enzo kidnapped Matt because he was bored and Matt called me for help and Damon was here," she was telling her mother when Damon entered the room.

"I come bearing gifts," Damon said, holding up a small bear that looked like the miniature version of Mr. Cuddles. "And hot cocoa for what ails ya."

Taking the cup, Liz blew on the top when Caroline gave Damon a suspicious look as her mother moved the cup to her lips. Biting her lower lip, Caroline watched her mother take a sip. "That is really good," she told him with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Damon." Sitting the cup down, she examined the bear that he handed her. "Why does this bear look so familiar?"

"It's a mini Mr. Cuddles," Caroline told her, glancing at Damon who nodded. "Damon, I'm going to go get my mom something to eat. They haven't fed you yet?" she asked Liz who shook her head. "We'll be right back," Caroline said as she turned Damon around and pushed him toward the door.

"Did you put vampire blood in her drink?" Caroline hissed at Damon once they were in hall as Enzo and Matt watched them.

"No," Damon replied with a shrug and a frown;then he smiled. "Maybe. A teeny bit."

"Damon," Caroline growled, punching him on the shoulder.

"I know. I know. I just can't watch her die like that," Damon snapped. "I mean, look at you. I made you, and you're okay, according to most of our little group."

Punching Damon on the shoulder again, Caroline rolled her eyes. "Okay. I was going to slip some into her pancake syrup."

Enzo watched Damon and Caroline quarrel over which one should be the one to turn her mother. Or to not turn her mother. Or who would end it for her if she hated being a vampire. Or what they would do if she was bloody bad at it. Smiling, he leaned down in his seat. No, it might not be the wholesome take that some people would like involved with mistletoe and songs 'round the bleeding fireplace, but it was the true spirit of Christmas to Enzo, being with friends and Caroline's family since his was gone. It was nice to be able to just sit back and relax, no planning terrible revenge upon those who wronged him.

"What do you want to do after we leave here?" Matt asked Enzo who shrugged.

"Thought I would trail Caroline 'round a bit. Make sure she doesn't do anything too stupid while she's dealing with the grief and all that. Then we can go taunt Stefan by hanging 'round chateau Salvatore. When I'm bored we'll head over to Duke after the holidays to visit the real Sarah Salvatore just because I want to know if she's more like Damon or Stefan. Then I thought we could go on that road trip. Try not to talk too much or I might kill you before the New Year," Enzo informed Matt as Caroline punched Damon again.

"Sounds like a plan," Matt replied with a grin. Enzo shook his head. He was going to regret this so very much.

"Pancakes," Caroline announced with a clap of her hands.

"I thought that was our thing?" Enzo teased.

"Enzo!" Caroline complained, slapping him on the arm. "Would you stop being such a pain in the ass?"

"Admit it. You think it's adorable," Enzo told her.

"One day you're going to meet a girl that thinks that your jokes are funny," Caroline informed him haughtily. "That girl will NOT be me."

"Yeah. He will," Damon added. "Then she'll have her memories compelled away."

"Get over it," Matt snapped.

"Says the guy who hasn't had a girlfriend since Blondie," Damon told him with a sneer.

"Stop!" Caroline ordered them with a pointed finger at the two.

Damon and Matt quieted as Enzo nodded with a serious expression as she turned her back. "I think we should go to New Orleans for New Years?"

"Agh," Caroline shouted, running from the three laughing men.

"Yes. That's a great idea," Damon agreed with Enzo as Caroline turned to glare at them. "That would be one way to ring in the New Year with a bang. Right, Caroline?"

Enzo had to jump backwards as Caroline came flying at Damon before dragging him into the stairwell pummeling him with her little fists. "New Orleans it is," he said under his breath. If that preview was any indicator of the entertainment they would be in store for then he could not wait.

**Thank you to everyone who has read, faved, followed and/or reviewed this fic. **

**Peace, **

**Jessica **


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